Every month we usually pull a business or self-help book apart and fish out the useful bits. This time we’re trying something different. We’ve gathered five of the best TED talks on a subject close to our alumni community’s heart: learning – how we actually do it, why it sometimes stalls, and how to get better at the things we care about. They’re free, none is much longer than a coffee break, and each leaves you with something you can use. Here’s our pick, and why each is worth your time.
- Believe You Can Improve
Psychologist Carol Dweck’s “The power of believing that you can improve” is ten minutes that explain why two people of equal ability can end up miles apart. Her research on the “growth mindset” shows that treating ability as something you build, rather than something you’re simply born with, changes how you respond to difficulty. Watch it for the quietly powerful idea of “not yet” – you haven’t failed, you just haven’t got there yet.
- Practise the Right Way
We tend to assume that doing something a lot makes us better at it. Eduardo Briceño’s “How to get better at the things you care about” gently corrects that. He splits our time into a “learning zone” and a “performance zone”, and says that most of us spend so long performing that we stop improving. It’s an eye-opening watch for anyone who feels stuck on a plateau at work!
- Stick With It
Angela Lee Duckworth left a high-flying job to study why some people succeed and others don’t. Her talk “Grit: the power of passion and perseverance” makes the case that sticking power often matters more than raw talent. It’s not about “just try harder” – it’s an honest look at what keeps people going when things get hard, and why that’s worth building.
- Keep Your Creativity
Sir Ken Robinson’s “Do schools kill creativity?” is the most-watched TED talk of all time (at over 80 million views), and for good reason – it’s funny, warm and thoughtful. His argument that we educate creativity out of people is just as relevant at work as it is in school. Watch it for the laughs, stay for the rethink about where good ideas really come from.
- Aim for Mastery, Not Marks
Finally, the 2015 talk from Sal Khan (founder of the Khan Academy) “Let’s teach for mastery – not test scores” flips how we think about getting good at things. His idea – that real learning means properly understanding something before moving on, rather than scraping a pass and pressing ahead – will land with any adult who’s ever felt they “got through” a subject without ever really getting it.
Try This: Pick just one talk that appeals to you, watch it this week, and jot down a single sentence about what you’ll do differently. One idea, actually applied, beats five talks half-remembered.
Learning doesn’t stop when you leave the College – if anything, it gets more interesting, because now you get to choose what you learn and why. These five talks are a reminder that getting better at things is a skill in itself, and one we can all keep sharpening. Enjoy!
